It was fitting that new Proteas Test Captain Temba Bavuma was the star of the show as he proved to be man of the match to lead his side to a second Test victory and a 2-0 series win over the West Indies at the Wanderers on Saturday afternoon.
The Proteas won the first Test at the Centurion by 87 runs and then took their second Test victory at the Wanderers. huge 284 runs to decisively seal the series.
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In the match, Proteas took first place and scored 320 points. Aiden Markram scored 96 points.before the Windies answered all 251, with Gerald Coetzee selection of home bowlers from 3/41.
The Proteas then scored 321 in their second innings, with Bavuma’s career best is 172 leading the attack as they led the Windies 391 to victory, which was too much as they fell to 106 points, with Coetzee, 3/37, and Simon Harmer, 3/45, impressing with all-round bowling efforts.
“Take the trophy”
After the match, Bavuma was grateful to the crowd that had gathered on the fourth and final day of the game and admitted he was pleased with his performance.
“Good sound. It’s nice to see people come out on Saturday and see us take the trophy,” said Bavuma.
“I’ve been very happy. I’ve been in similar situations where I came in with a team in need of a rebuild. I think the most important thing about this inning was that I was able to transform it, make it big and make it more important with a personal point of view.
“Hopefully there will be many more to come. Not that I’m getting 10/2, but in terms of the implementation of these moments. Therefore, I am very pleased with my contribution to our cause.”
Proud performance
Bavuma was also proud of the team’s performance, which had changed a lot since the first Test victory at Centurion, when the Proteas boldly chose to play with two spinners on the traditional fast bowler pitch.
“This (match) was huge for us. From the moment we decided on the composition of the team, I thought it was a brave team. Came from Centurion and won the game pretty convincingly.
“Coming here to Wanderers, we hoped that the conditions would end up like this, and, fortunately, we succeeded. The guys came and played their roles. Simon and Kesh (Maharaj) did their job in the second innings. So from that point of view, it was quite nice.”
Bavuma also lamented the lack of Test cricket that the Proteas play in the coming years and called for more to be done to give them more playing time as their next series would not start until December against India.
“This is an important conversation for me. I think I’ve said my part. A lot of people praised it lyrically. We are a team that builds something, and in order to create something really worthwhile and please the fans, we need to be on the pitch,” Bavuma explained.
“Unfortunately, we will only wear white again in December. But who knows, maybe the powers that be and the people here will be able to do something. We would like to play as much (test) cricket as possible and bring more smiles to our faces.”